ELA7+Our+World

toc =** Making Sense of Our World **= In this final unit, students conclude their year-long study of the human condition by examining how a variety of genres can address the human condition: fantasy, comedy, tragedy, the short story, and poetry. Although students read from various genres, writing and class discussions focus on how literature can help us make sense of our world. In particular, students will examine "point of view," analyzing how authors develop different points of view. The overall goal of this unit is for students to apply all the reading, writing, speaking, and listening strategies and skills they have learned up to this point in the year. Students write an informative/explanatory essay in response to the essential question: Is literature always a reflection of life?

=Common Core Standards= Students will:
 * R.1** Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
 * R.2** Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
 * R.3** Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact.
 * R.4** Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.
 * R.6** Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text.
 * a.** Analyze stories, drama, or poems by authors who represent diverse world cultures.
 * R.8** Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims.
 * R.9** Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history.
 * R.10** By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
 * R.11** Recognize, interpret, and make connections in narratives, poetry, and drama, ethically and artistically to other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, eras, personal events, and situations.
 * b.** Use established criteria to classify, select, and evaluate texts to make informed judgments about the quality of the pieces.
 * W.1** Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
 * a.** Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
 * b.** Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
 * c.** Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence.
 * d.** Establish and maintain a formal style.
 * e.** Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
 * W.2** Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
 * a.** Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting, graphics, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
 * b.** Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
 * c.** Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
 * d.** Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
 * e.** Establish and maintain a formal style
 * f.** Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.
 * W.4** Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
 * a.** Produce text that explores a variety of cultures and perspectives.
 * W.5** With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
 * W.6** Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources.
 * W.9** Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
 * a.** Apply grade 7 Reading standards to literature
 * b.** Apply grade 7 Reading standards to literary nonfiction
 * W.10** Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
 * SL.1** Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
 * a.** Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
 * b.** Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.
 * c.** Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others' questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.
 * d.** Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views.
 * e.** Seek to understand other perspectives and cultures and communicate effectively with audiences or individuals from a varied backgrounds.
 * SL.2** Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.
 * SL.3** Delineate a speaker's argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
 * SL.4** Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused manner with pertinent descriptions,f acts, details, and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
 * SL.5** Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.
 * SL.6** Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
 * L.1** Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
 * a.** Explain the function of phrases and clauses in general and specific sentences.
 * b.** Choose among simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences to signal differing relationships among ideas.
 * c.** Place phrases and clauses with a sentence, recognizing and correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers.
 * L.2** Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
 * a.** Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives.
 * b.** Spell correctly
 * L.3** Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
 * a.** Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy.
 * L.4** Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
 * a.** Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
 * b.** Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word.
 * c.** Consult general and specialized reference materials, both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.
 * d.** Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase.
 * L.5** Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
 * a.** Interpret figures of speech in context.
 * b.** Use the relationship between particular words to better understand each of the words.
 * c.** Distinguish among the connotations of words with similar denotations.
 * L.6** Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

=Suggested Student Objectives= //**SWBAT:**//
 * Describe how point of view is developed in a variety of genres--drama, short stories, and poetry;
 * Explain the basic characteristics of comedy and tragedy;
 * Compare novels with their theatrical and film versions;
 * Identify a common theme in different novels and advance an argument about that theme;
 * Explain how authors make historical fiction believable;
 * Analyze how the setting of a story or biography affects character development;
 * Explain how an author's style can help convey the theme of their stories, poems, or speeches;
 * Compare and contrast different genres;
 * Analyze how a story evolves over the course of a text.

= Terminology/ Academic Vocabulary =


 * = **Academic Vocabulary** ||||= **Text Based Vocabulary** ||= **ELA Vocabulary** ||
 * heroism || predator || treachery || flashback ||
 * bullying || eclipse || calamity || foreshadowing ||
 * classism || illuminated || wheedle || irony ||
 * dysfunctionality || rampage || metamorphosed || tragedy ||
 * essential || receding || genial || speaker vs. poet ||
 * || commotion || prowess ||  ||
 * || aneurysm || superfluous ||  ||
 * || osprey || reverently ||  ||
 * || malingerer || formidable ||  ||
 * || conveyance || eloquent ||  ||
 * || ramshackle ||  ||   ||

=Required Readings= Choose one of the following novels:

Tangerine, Edward Bloor, Novel (G) War Horse, Michael Morpurgo, Novel (BG) The Call of the Wild, Jack London, Novel (G) Taking Sides, Gary Soto, Novel (G) Becoming Naomi Leon, Pam Munoz Ryan, Novel (AG) Surviving the Applewhites, Stephaine S. Tolan, Novel (G) The View From Saturday, E.L. Konigsburg, Novel (AG)

Informational texts that support your novel of choice

=Suggested Readings=

To an Athlete Dying Young, A.E. Howsman, Poem (Springboard) Music to Your Ears or Hearing Loss, Nonfiction (Teacher Toolkit) American Teens: Lie, Cheat, and Steal - and Think They're Ok, Nonfiction (Texts and Lessons) School Cancels Graduation for Cheaters, Nonfiction (Texts and Lessons) Amigo Brothers, Piri Thomas, Short Story (Glencoe) Fish Cheeks, Amy Tan, Short Story (Glencoe) Broken Chain, Ron Tranmer, Short Story (Glencoe) The Medicine Bag, Virginia Driving Hawk Sheve, Short Story (8th Grade Glencoe) Woman Hollering Creek: And Other Stories, Sandra Cisneros, Anthology Without Commericals, Poem (Glencoe) I'm Nobody! Who Are You?, Emily Dickinson, Poem (Glencoe) Identity, Poem (8th Grade Glencoe) Face It, Poem (Glencoe) One, Poem (Glencoe) Seventh Grade, Gary Soto, Short Story (Springboard) Oranges, Gary Soto, Poem (Springboard) Almost Ready, Raymond A. Foss, Poem (Glencoe) Your World, Georgia Douglas, Poem (Glencoe) Icicle, Crystal Reign Brock, Poem (Springboard) What is Success, Bessie Stanley, Poem (Springboard) Growing Pains, Poem (Springboard) Awakening, Sonny Carroll, Poem Andre-Marie-Jean-Jacques Dupin Aine, Honore Daumier, Painting Antoine-Maurice-Apollinaire, Comte D'Argout, Honore Daumier, Painting Antoine Odier, Honore Daumier, Painting Auguste Gady, Honore Daumier, Painting Auguste-Hilarion, Comte de Keratry, Honore Daumier, Painting

Although novels are listed as suggested readings, students should be assigned a novel based upon their reading level. Novels should be read independently, outside of class. Students should carry the novel back and forth to class. Novels should be used during class discussions and activities to assist students in meeting the unit's objectives. It is imperative that students be assigned a novel that is at their independent level. AG = Above Grade Level, G = Grade Level, BG = Below Grade Level. Novels can be substituted based upon resources and teacher discretion.

=Resource Links= ReadWriteThink: Movie Is Coming

ReadWriteThink: Thoughtful Threads

ReadWriteThink: Doodle Splash Using Graphics

Article: Reflection of Literature

Article: Making Sense of the World

Article: Making Sense of the World

Article: Interpreter in Your Head

The Life of Jack London as Reflected in His Works





=Activities= As you read the novels and short stories from this unit, take notes about the story genre, setting, and characters in your journal. Be sure to note page numbers with relevant information or mark the text with sticky notes so you can cite the text during class discussion. Focus on the following questions:
 * Note Taking on Genre, Setting, and Characterization**
 * What is the genre of the novel?
 * What is the setting?
 * Who are the major character(s)?
 * Who are the minor characters?
 * What is the problem faced by the character(s)? How do he/she/they resolve the problem?
 * What is the primary theme of the novel?

The human spirit can be defined as a combination of the traits that all human beings have in common. Select three of these traits that you think are present in the characters from the novels from this unit and discuss why you think these traits are essential to the human spirit. Why did you choose these traits? Justify your answer by citing specific information and examples from texts read, not only in this unit, but all year long. Edit your writing for the grammar conventions studied this year.
 * Writing (Argument)**

Think about why beauty is so highly valued in our society while reading "Without Commercials." Take notes in your journal comparing the characters. Who is a better person? Why? Defend your answer in a well-developed paper that includes an engaging opening statement of your position, at least three clear reasons, and relevant evidence cited from the text. Edit your writing for the grammar conventions studied this year.
 * Writing (Argument)**

While reading one of the short stories or poems, take notes in your journal about what makes the characters unique. At the end, choose a character about whom to write a poem, using poetic devices that exemplify the character's traits and development throughout the story. Memorize and/or recite your poem for the class, and record it using a video camera so you can share it.
 * Literature Response**

Select a genre studied this year and write an informative/explanatory essay in response to the essential question: Is literature always a reflection of life? Make sure to include elements that make it apparent to the reader which genre you chose, cite specific details from texts you've read, and use as many words as possible learned in Word Study this year. After your teacher reviews your first draft, work with a partner to edit and strengthen your writing before presenting it to the class. Edit your writing for the grammar conventions studied so far this year. Publish a well-developed paper in written or multimedia format on the class web page.
 * Informative/Explanatory Writing**

The mechanics and grammar are cumulative througout the year. Remember - once skills are taught in a mini-lesson and listed on the bulletin board, you are expected to edit your work for these elements before publication. At this point, we should be seeing sentence variety, sophisticated word choice, effective use of transitions.
 * Mechanics/Grammar**

What emotions can you identify in the characters that Daumier has created? How has he shown these emotions artistically? What is different about these heads from other sculptures you have seen? What is the same? Describe what you see in a short paragraph, focusing on the visual aspects of the sculpture, then share your ideas with the class. Does everyone see the same visual elements in these sculptures?
 * Art/Class Discussion/Writing**

Daumier made at least three dozen of these busts. Notice the level of detail, and appearance of monumentality, with which Daumier imbued these works. How tall do you think they are? None of these works is much taller than six inches. Select three works, rename the subjects, and assign the subject an occupation based on appearance.
 * Art/Class Discussion/Writing**

=Assessments= Final Exam

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